CHICAGO – With the Big Ten seeking its eighth straight national championship, BTN’s 2013-14 wrestling coverage, presented by returning sponsor Cliff Keen Athletic, will be the most extensive in network history. The television schedule includes a dual between Penn State and Iowa, winners of the past six national titles, a Monday night meet in primetime between Ohio State and Purdue, and live coverage of the entire Big Ten Wrestling Championships hosted by Wisconsin. Although Penn State and Iowa were not originally scheduled to meet as a result of the Big Ten’s rotating slate of eight regular-season duals, the two schools

It’s official: Wrestling is back in the Olympics. On Sunday morning, the International Olympic Committee reinstated wrestling for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The IOC selected wrestling over baseball/softball and squash. Of course, this is huge news for the sport, the Olympics, and all wrestling fans. [ USATODAY.com: Wrestling wins IOC vote for 2020 Olympics ] Wrestling was removed from the Olympics in February, but in the end, the IOC decided not to get rid of one of its oldest sports. And that’s music to Big Ten wrestling fans’ ears. Teams from the Big Ten have won the past seven NCAA

In the latest web-only edition of the “BTN Wrestling Report,” Kara Lentz talks with BTN wrestling analyst Jim Gibbons to preview the Big Ten Championships that are set for Saturday-Sunday at the University of Illinois. Lentz and Gibbons preview each weight class and talk about what each team needs to do to win the team title. [ RELATED: Check out the Championships preliminary seeds ] How to watch all events live Session 1: Big Ten Digital Network Session 2: Big Ten Digital Network Session 3: Big Ten Digital Network Sunday consolations: Big Ten Digital Network Sunday’s Championships: BTN TV & BTN2Go Here are

Wrestling fans can watch the two-day Big Ten Wrestling Champinships this weekend live via the Big Ten Digital Network online subscription product and BTN/BTN2Go. Sunday’s championships will air live on BTN TV and online at BTN2Go at 2:30 p.m. ET. If you’re not familiar with BTN2Go, now’s the time to check it out. BTN2Go lets fans watch the TV network live wherever they are via the internet, mobile phone or tablet. Cable and satellite companies who have agreed to carry BTN2Go will offer it, but you must have BTN as part of your cable or satellite subscription to get it.

BTN will provide live coverage of all four sessions of the NWCA/Cliff Keen Division I National Dual Meet Championship hosted by the Minnesota via the Big Ten Digital Network on Friday and Saturday. Four of the eight competing teams are Big Ten squads: Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois and Ohio State. All four programs rank in the nation’s top 10: No. 2 Iowa, N0. 3 Minnesota, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 8 Illinois. Session one begins at 7 p.m. ET on Friday with Illinois and Ohio State in action, followed by Minnesota and Iowa competing in session two at 9 p.m. ET.

No. 4 Iowa outscored No. 3 Minnesota, 41-33, in match points to defeat the Gophers, 16-15, Saturday at Williams Arena. The two teams were tied at 15 after splitting the first 10 bouts, but the Hawkeyes earned the deciding team point based on the advantage in match points — the third tiebreak criteria. “I don’t want to nitpick here but we could have scored some bonus points,” said head coach Tom Brands. “You have to get bonus points when you can. We had some close matches that came down to finishing. If we finish we’ll see more things go our

The fourth-ranked Minnesota wrestling team rallied from behind to beat the eighth-ranked Illini, 18-14 on Monday night. The Gophers were sparked by Scott Schiller’s upset of Mario Gonzalez at 197-pounds. Catch more Big Ten wrestling Friday night on BTN/BTN2Go as Northwestern takes on Michigan State at 6pm ET. Tune back in Saturday afternoon as Iowa heads to Minnesota to face the Gophers at 4pm ET.

The third-ranked Minnesota wrestling team rallied past No. 15 Oregon State, 21-18, Saturday night at the Sports Pavilion. The match came down to the heavyweight battle, and it was Minnesota’s Tony Nelson notching a double-overtime victory over Oregon State’s Chad Hanke. Watch our interview with Nelson now. The Gophers trailed 15-6 following the 157-pound match, but they tallied 15 of the final 18 points to claim victory. Read the full recap at GopherSports.com.